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Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell, left, of Sweden, ties to get a shot past Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, April 4, 2018, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

ANAHEIM – Third place in the Pacific Division continues to be up for grabs and the Ducks will have another crack at regaining that spot when they take on the Dallas Stars at Honda Center in the regular season home finale Friday night.

The Ducks (42-25-13) clinched a playoff spot Wednesday night with their 3-1 win over Minnesota but they’ve been jockeying with the Kings for that position. The Kings took it back Thursday night with a 5-4 overtime win over the Wild, with Dustin Brown scoring his fourth goal of the night for the winner.

Sticking to his philosophy that he first indicated Thursday, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said he is intent on putting a regular lineup on the ice against the Stars instead of taking the opportunity to sit out an everyday regular for some added rest – particularly one that logs big minutes.

Other than the injured Cam Fowler (shoulder) and John Gibson (upper body), all available Ducks were on the ice for their morning skate. Carlyle has cited the chance to improve their playoff positioning as a reason to go with his recent lineup. The chance for home ice advantage in the first round still exists.

“I think that you always go into the game with your best foot forward when you need to points to qualify,” Carlyle said. “So I don’t think that applies in this situation. Obviously we’d like to win this hockey game and solidify our position higher in the standings. And that’s the bottom line.

“We’re here to play the right way and to continue to get points that are available to us. That’s the simple motto that I go. You coach the game to win. You play the game to win.”

Coming off his 26-save effort Wednesday, Ryan Miller (10-6-6, 2.43 GAA, .927 SV%) gets his second straight start with Reto Berra backing him up. Ondrej Kase joined Rickard Rakell as 20-goal scorers among the Ducks this season while Adam Henrique’s next goal will give him that many since joining Anaheim.

Josh Manson will finish as the plus-minus leader among the Ducks with a plus-30 rating while contributing career highs with six goals and 28 assists from the blue line. Hampus Lindholm needs one point to join Manson, Fowler and Brandon Montour as defensemen with 30 points this season.

Here is the projected lineup for the Ducks:

Rickard Rakell-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry

Andrew Cogliano-Ryan Kesler-Jakob Silfverberg

Nick Ritchie-Adam Henrique-Ondrej Kase

Jason Chimera-Derek Grant-J.T. Brown

Hampus Lindholm-Josh Manson

Francois Beauchemin-Brandon Montour

Marcus Pettersson-Andy Welinski

Mike McKenna will make his first NHL start in three years as the Stars (41-31-8) try to close out their season on a high note after the disappointment of failing to reach the playoffs.

A career minor leaguer with 459 American Hockey League games under his belt, the 35-year-old McKenna will be appearing in his 24th NHL game. He got his first win in 2013 with Columbus on Tuesdday, making 17 saves in relief of an injured Kari Lehtonen as Dallas won, 4-2, over San Jose.

The Stars are his fifth organization. Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said McKenna deserved the chance for a start after playing well while coming in cold.

“What the heck? Sometimes there’s just an opportunity where people have earned the right to start a hockey game.”

Not surprisingly, McKenna has had friends and family members reaching out to offer their congratulations over the past 48 hours.

“It’s not overwhelming,” he said. “It’s kind of been funny to me because it’s not the first time I’ve done this,” he said. “When it’s been a while, people are paying attention. It’s been really gratifying. It’s been cool to have some people come out of the woodwork.

“But we’re not done here. There’s still a lot left to do.”

Carlyle said the Ducks don’t plan to do anything differently with McKenna in net as opposed to the more established Lehtonen, who is healthy enough to back up. The opposing coach did offer recognition for McKenna’s persistence.

“He’s been around the league a while and now is finally earning an opportunity,” Carlyle said. “And that’s good to see. That’s a good luck story for a guy that’s been hard at it and working to get to the NHL. And now he’s here. Good for him.”